M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I commend the Minister on bringing forward this legislation, which must be passed so we can be party to the convention that will be ratified and signed in Oslo on 3 December. I welcome the cross-party support for it and the work done by this Minister, the Department and the Government.

Cluster munitions have inflicted unacceptable harm on civilian populations and many countries have seen the deadly legacy from cluster submunitions failing to detonate. We have all seen images on television of young children in particular who have been affected by these deadly munitions.

Civilians are killed and injured by cluster bombs exploding years after their use in war; people are still being killed and maimed by such ordnance. Tragic loss of life and terrible injuries from this are evident across the world and our televisions bring home to us these particularly terrible injuries. Unexploded cluster munitions also present a significant obstacle to post-conflict communities seeking to rebuild their lives. Economic reconstruction and social recovery cannot take place until explosive ordnance is cleared and destroyed.

Such a task of clearance is a daunting challenge. I saw at first hand the work of the Irish Defence Forces in this regard when I visited the Lebanon. Those personnel are to be commended on their technical and professional skills in clearing areas of unexploded ordnance.

It is time for us to deal with the cause of the problem as the legacy of unexploded cluster munitions endangers civilian lives in the same way as landmines, and the problem must be dealt with similarly. The Irish Defence Forces have a clear international reputation in the work it does in this regard. However, we continually see First World countries developing and specialising in the production of these bombs. It is unfortunate we cannot do more in that regard but this is a step in the right direction, for which I commend the Minister.

On 30 May this year, 107 states participated in the Dublin conference on cluster munitions and agreed to adopt the text of a new convention. By doing so, the participating states fulfilled the commitment made in the Oslo declaration in February 2007 to conclude by 2008 a legally binding international instrument prohibiting the use and stockpiling of cluster munitions that caused unacceptable harm to civilians, secure adequate provision of care and rehabilitation to survivors and clearance of contaminated areas.

The conference was well attended and I heard the Minister, in his opening remarks, speak about countries such as South Africa and Japan, which were not at the forefront but participated in the conference. The Department of Foreign Affairs took a very active and hands-on role in the process, for which it should be commended.

The new convention will be opened for signature at a signing conference in Oslo on 3 December. All states wishing to join may attend this ceremony and I am glad to hear Ireland will be there to sign up on that date. Those which do not sign up on 3 December in Oslo can do so at a later stage at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The new convention prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions. Separate articles in the convention concern assistance to victims, clearance of contaminated areas and the destruction of stockpiles.

This legislation will confirm this country's support for all efforts this year to conclude the international instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. We need a legally binding international instrument that prohibits the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The destruction of current stockpiles is also required, and I am led to believe tens of thousands of tonnes of those munitions are stockpiled in various countries. The instrument also provides for clearance, risk reduction and other risk mitigation activities, as well as actions for victim assistance, co-operation, compliance and transparency measures.

Over the past 50 years the use of cluster munitions has shown us the devastating and horrendous impact of such weapons. Human rights, humanitarian and development impacts of cluster munitions are still present today.

The events in 2006 reminded one of this tragedy, when Israel deployed thousands of tonnes of cluster munitions in Lebanon. Such munitions will still be present in 20, 30 and 40 years' time. The unfortunate point is that children in particular tend to be the victims of such unexploded ordnance. Children, by their nature, are inquisitive and will play in areas that less physically nimble adults are unable to access. Moreover, their inquisitive nature means that when children see something, they pick it up with unfortunate results. A case from Laos was reported in the newspaper recently, in which 14 children came across an unexploded bomb. I believe four were killed and the rest were badly injured.

The effects on children have been recorded and the United Nations is doing much work in this respect. For example, two thirds of cluster munitions casualties in Kosovo were 19 years of age or younger. The average age of casualties in Afghanistan was between seven and 14. In Vietnam, which was littered with cluster munitions for more than 30 years, data on recent casualties also show a scary story in which children made up 62% of cluster munitions casualties, compared to 49% of landmine and other ordnance casualties.

The need for risk reduction education and for the rights of all survivors to medical care, rehabilitation services, psychological support and social and economic inclusion must be recognised. For children, this means making schools accessible, training teachers to work with children with disabilities and ensuring the support provided is lifelong. It also means being attentive to the social, economic and psychological needs of children when their parents fall victim to cluster munitions. The commitment by states, civil society and international organisations to make progress in disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation, through new and creative forms of diplomacy, is growing. Many states and millions of people globally recognise that our prospects for a peaceful and prosperous future are, to a large extent, dependent on our ability to prohibit or control the development, use, stockpiling and transfer of nuclear, biological, chemical and conventional weapons.

Recently, the UN Secretary General stated he was deeply troubled by the lack of progress on global disarmament and all Members would agree. He called on member states of the UN to improve global security by breaking the stalemate on disarmament that threatens other key objectives of the UN charter. A treaty prohibiting cluster munitions is among the initiatives that will result in greater global security. The convention also should address the key concerns of the inherent inaccuracy and frequent malfunctioning of cluster munitions, which makes them particularly indiscriminate, both at the time of their use and long after the conflict has ended.

I commend the Minister and wish this legislation a speedy passage in order that Ireland will be able to be a signatory to the convention in Oslo on 3 December.

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